(Meth)acrylate functional biobased oils (derived from plants and animals) and biobased oil derivatives are an important platform of chemicals. For example, acrylated epoxidized soybean oil can be a starting material for coatings, adhesives, plasticizers, inks, paints, lubricants and other applications. (Meth)acrylate functional oils are traditionally synthesized through a two step process: 1) epoxidation of unsaturations in the hydrocarbon structure of the oil, followed by 2) (meth)acrylation of the epoxide groups to yield a desired product. Scheme I illustrates such a global reaction scheme using soybean oil and acrylic acid as example starting materials.
